Apparatus for wrapping or packaging a palletized load or article generally comprises a stationary or fixed framework defining a wrapping station for receiving the palletized load or article to wrapped within wrapping or packaging material, and a movable framework which is mounted upon the stationary or fixed framework in a vertically reciprocable manner or mode of operation. The movable framework has a wrapping material dispensing unit rotatably mounted thereon for rotation around a vertical axis defined at the wrapping station at which each one of the palletized loads or articles is disposed so as to be wrapped within the packaging or wrapping material, and accordingly, as the movable framework is moved vertically along the fixed or stationary framework, the wrapping material dispensing unit is rotated around the palletized load or article so as to completely encase the palletized load or article within the wrapping or packaging material. The palletized load or article to be wrapped or packaged usually comprises opposed pairs of vertical sides, wherein adjacent sides of the palletized load or article meet at an angle so as to define a plurality of vertically oriented corner or edge regions, and in order to protect the vertically oriented corner or edge regions of the palletized load or article from being damaged during transportation, shipping, storage, or the like, vertically oriented corner or edge protectors, fabricated, for example, from paper or paperboard material, are applied to or mounted upon the vertically oriented corner or edge regions of the palletized load or article prior to the wrapping or packaging of the same within the wrapping or packaging material.
The apparatus for applying the vertically oriented corner or edge protectors onto the vertically oriented corner or edge regions of the palletized load or article generally comprises, for each vertically oriented corner region of the palletized load or article, a magazine for storing a plurality or supply of the vertically oriented corner or edge protectors, and a pickup, transfer, and applicator mechanism operatively associated with the magazine for removing a leading one of the vertically oriented corner or edge protectors from the magazine, for transferring the removed corner or edge protector toward the particular or corresponding corner or edge portion of the palletized load or article, and for applying the vertically oriented corner or edge protector onto the particular vertically oriented corner or edge region of the palletized load or article. One such type of apparatus which has heretofore been proposed, and which is currently well-known in the industry, is that disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,572 which issued to Morantz et al. on Jul. 16, 1996. More particularly, as can best be appreciated from FIG. 1, which corresponds to FIG. 2 of the aforenoted patent to Morantz et al., it is seen that the exemplary, conventional, PRIOR ART palletized load or article wrapping or packaging system, generally indicated by the reference character 10, comprises a stationary frame assembly 12, a movable frame assembly 14 movably mounted upon the stationary frame assembly 12 for vertical movement with respect thereto, and a ring member 16 which is supported upon the frame assembly 14 for vertical displacement therewith and which is rotatable around a system axis 18. The stationary frame assembly 12 spans a conveyor 20 which is adapted to convey a palletized load or article L, to be wrapped or packaged, along a flow path P to a wrapping or packaging station, which is located at the axial location 18, in preparation for the wrapping or packaging of the palletized load or article L, and subsequent to the wrapping or packaging of the palletized load or article L, the conveyor 20 will discharge the wrapped or packaged palletized load or article L outwardly from the wrapping or packaging station. A film carriage 22 is mounted upon the ring member 16 for displacement therewith and includes a roll of plastic wrapping or packaging film material which is adapted to be paid out or dispensed during a palletized load or article wrapping or packaging operation.
The palletized load or article L is defined by means of a pair of oppositely disposed end walls 34,36 and a pair of oppositely disposed side walls 38,40 wherein adjacent pairs of the side walls and end walls 34,36,38,40 define four vertically oriented corner regions upon the palletized load or article L which are adapted to be protected by means of vertically oriented corner or edge protectors. Accordingly, a plurality of corner or edge protector magazine and pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 44 are provided within the vicinity of each one of the four corner regions of the palletized load or article L such that a pickup, transfer, and applicator assembly 132 can effectively pick up or remove a leading one of a plurality of serially arranged, vertically oriented corner or edge protectors from a magazine assembly 56, transfer the removed corner or edge protector from the magazine assembly 56 toward the particular corner or edge region of the palletized load or article L, and apply the corner or edge protector onto the corner or edge region of the palletized load or article L. More particularly, as can best be appreciated from FIG. 2, which corresponds to FIG. 4 of the patent to Morantz et al., each one of the plurality of corner or edge protector magazine and pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 44 is seen to comprise a stationary framework 46 which includes a plurality of vertically oriented corner posts 48, a pair of transversely oriented framework members 50,50 connecting pairs of the corner posts 48 together, and a pair of longitudinally extending frame rail members 52,52 connecting other pairs of the corner posts 48 together. In addition, a pair of longitudinally extending frame members 54,54, having racks 70 formed thereon, also connect the pair of transversely oriented framework members 50,50 together.
A magazine unit 56, for housing a plurality of corner or edge protectors C within a transversely oriented, serial array, is mounted upon a carriage assembly 58 which comprises a carrige support plate 59, and the opposite ends of the support plate 59 are mounted upon carriage wheel units 60 which are rollably disposed upon the longitudinally extending rail members 52,52. A motor 64, mounted upon the undersurface portion of the support plate 59, is adapted to drive pinions, not illustrated, which are disposed in meshed engagement with the racks 70 such that the entire carriage assembly 58, upon which the magazine unit 56 is mounted, can be moved in a reciprocal manner along the longitudinally extending rail members 52,52. It is additionally seen that each one of the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 is respectively mounted upon the support plate 59, through means of a support block 134, so as to be movable along with the carriage assembly 58. The support block 134 is mounted upon a pair of guide rods 136 which are slidably mounted within a pair of guide blocks 138 which are mounted upon the support plate 59, and the support block 134 is also attached to the distal end of a piston rod 142 of a cylinder mechanism 140 which is also mounted upon the support plate 59.
The support block 134 comprises a pickup plate 148 which is mounted upon a support plate 150 which is fixedly mounted upon a vertically oriented rotatable shaft 144, and a pinion mechanism 158 is also fixedly mounted upon the rotatable shaft 144. A rack 160 is fixedly mounted upon one of a plurality of vertically orient-ed corner posts 72 of the magazine unit 56, and accordingly, when the support block 134 is driven to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, from the solid line position to the dotted line position, the pinion mechanism 158 will be enmeshed with and driven by the rack 160 so as to rotate the pickup plate 148 and the vertically oriented shaft 144 around the vertical axis defined by vertically oriented shaft 144. In this manner, the leading one of the edge or corner protectors C will be removed from the magazine unit 56 and angularly pivoted through an angular rotation of 135 so as to be disposed at the dotted line position designated by means of P1,P2 which represent the side members of each corner or edge protector C. When the corner or edge protector C is disposed at such dotted line position, the pickup, transfer, and applicator assembly 132 may then be adjustably positioned still further with respect to the end and side wall members 34,38 of the palletized load or article L by means of piston-cylinder assembly 140,142, as well as by means of drive motor 64 which controls the movement of carriage assembly 58, so as to apply or mount the corner or edge protector C onto the external corner or edge region of the palletized load or article L.
While the aforenoted apparatus of Morantz et al. is quite satisfactory, the structural components, and the operational arrangement of such structural components, comprising the apparatus or system presents some logistical and operational situations which are deemed to need improvement. For example, it is noted, for example, that the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 are respectively mounted upon the carriage assembly 58 along with the magazine unit 56 which houses the supply of corner or edge protectors C. Accordingly, a substantial amount of mass, that is, the entire carriage assembly 58 and the magazine unit 56, is required to be moved when each one of the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 is moved with respect to a particular one of the external corner or edge regions of the palletized load or article L in order to properly position the leading one of the corner or edge protectors C which has been removed from a respective one of the magazine units 56. This massive movement of the aforenoted structural components necessitates a slow movement of the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 with respect to the external corner or edge regions of the palletized load or article L, or the use of larger motor drive units. It is further noted that since each magazine unit 56 and each pickup, transfer, and applicator assembly 132 is mounted upon the movable carriage assembly 58, then when the supply of corner or edge protectors C needs to be replenished, operator personnel must perform such replenishment operation either while the carriage assembly 58 is in motion, such as, for example, when each one of the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 is being moved toward an external corner region of the palletized load or article L so as to position the leading one of the corner or edge protectors C onto the external corner or edge region of the palletized load or article L, or when each one of the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 is being moved away from the external corner region of the palletized load or article L so as to permit the wrapping or packaging process for the palletized load or article L to be completed. The performance of such a replenishment operation during such movements of the carriage assembly 58 is obviously dangerous or potentially hazardous to operator personnel.
Alternatively, such a replenishment operation may conceivably be performed after the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 have been moved away from the external corner region of the palletized load or article L so as to permit the wrapping or packaging of the palletized load or article L to be completed, or still further, when the wrapped or packaged palletized load or article is being discharged from the wrapping or packaging station by means of the conveyor mechanism 20, while a new palletized load or article L is being conveyed into the wrapping or packaging station in preparation for the commencement of a new wrapping or packaging operation. However, the time window for accomplishing such a corner or edge protector replenishment operation may be relatively short, and if the replenishment operation is not in fact completed when the next wrapping or packaging operation is to be performed, the system experiences operational downtime which causes a loss in productivity.
Lastly, it is noted that in accordance with the structural arrangement and actuating mechanisms comprising the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132, and the mounting of the same upon the carriage assembly 58, the plurality of pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 are only able to undergo angular rotation through means of an angular extent comprising 135° of movement. Accordingly, as can best be appreciated from FIG. 2, in order to permit the pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 132 to undergo such angular or pivotal movement from the solid line position to the dotted line position so as to properly position the same, as well as the leading one of the external corner or edge protectors C disposed thereon, with respect to a respective one of the external corner or edge regions of the palletized load or article L, the plurality of corner or edge protector magazine and pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies 44 must be positioned in a transverse or perpendicular mode or orientation with respect to the longitudinal extent of the conveyor 20. This arrangement requires a larger amount of floor space to be allocated to the entire packaging or wrapping machinery or apparatus 10.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved apparatus or system for applying vertically oriented external corner or edge protectors onto vertically oriented external corner or edge regions of a palletized load or article wherein the magazine assemblies for housing or storing supplies of the plurality of external edge or corner protectors are stationary so as not to present a hazardous environment for operator personnel during the replenishment of the supplies of the external corner or edge protectors within the magazine assemblies, wherein the external corner or edge protector pickup, transfer, and applicator mechanisms are movable independently of their operatively associated magazine assemblies such that the mass which is required to be moved in order to remove the leading one of the external corner or edge protectors from each one of the magazine assemblies, to transfer the removed external corner or edge protector toward the external corner or edge region of the palletized load or article disposed at the wrapping or packaging station, and to apply the external corner or edge protector onto the external corner or edge region of the palletized load or article is minimized whereby the controlled movements of the external corner or edge protector pickup, transfer, and applicator mechanisms are able to be performed faster and with smaller motor drive mechanisms, and wherein the external corner or edge protector pickup, transfer, and applicator mechanisms are rotatably or pivotally movable through angular movements or extents of 270° so as to permit the external corner or edge protector magazine and pickup, transfer, and applicator assemblies to be optionally oriented in both parallel and perpendicular modes with respect to the longitudinal extent of the palletized load or article conveyor mechanism which conveys the palletized loads or articles into the wrapping or packaging station, and which discharges the palletized loads or articles out from the wrapping or packaging station, whereby the floor space of the manufacturing or fabrication facility can be optimized.